Kathy Hester

When: Tue., Jan. 31, 7 p.m. 2012

Slow cookers fascinate me, as growing up in the age of microwaves corrupted my gastronomical attention span to where anything more than eight minutes for a meal seemed the height of intolerable cruelty. And yet, they possess a certain mystique; film critic Roger Ebert even wrote a whole book about his longtime love affair with rice cookers (I recognize that's different from a Crock-Pot, but it's a similar principle). If you're the type who likes to get their stew on but not a beef stew, check out Durham food blogger Kathy Hester's new book (deep breath) The Vegan Slow Cooker: Simply Set It and Go with 150 Recipes for Intensely Flavorful, Fuss-Free Fare Everyone (Vegan or Not!) Will Devour! (Whew.)

In it, you'll learn all sorts of recipes for soups, stews, even desserts that have no animal stuff in them, such as "Mushroom Lasagna with a Garlic-Tofu Sauce," "Tempeh Braised with Figs and Port Wine" and something called "Kung Pao Chick'n." Get your slow burn on starting at 7 p.m. —Zack Smith